At first, all I can see is light; the glare reflecting off metallic surfaces too much for me to see past. However, as my eyes adjust and I stare out into the space, an odd bubble of emotions forms in my gut. "Alright, not what I was expecting," I think, looking out into the unrecognized hangar bay. Having visited not only the Strata Relay, but nearly every relay in the game hundreds of times, a part of me is expecting to see the ever familiar spawn location with the Liset landers and circular docking pads. Instead, we are in some other place, one I don't recognize at all. "It's giving... No Man's Sky dock. Or like, Star Wars. Or Halo," I think, looking around at the expansive space. Our ship is parked on solid ground, surrounded by a handful of other similar looking dropships.
As I make my way out into the hangar proper, my eyes trace up to the roof, nearly a hundred feet above our heads. As I do, I see a ship slowly hovering up and over all the parked ships, moving towards what appears to be a missing wall, open to the vacuum of space. "I mean, not really literally though. If it was open space, we'd be dead," I think, as I try to discern what exactly is preventing us from getting jettisoned out into the inky black. The continuous novelty has me buzzing, and even though my life was in danger mere hours ago, I can't help but feel excitement in my veins. "We're in actual, literal space! This is insane! Holy crap," I think, doing my best to resist the impulse to explode as Ko-lee and the Loki walk out of the dropship behind me. A few moments later, a fourth person I don't recognize also exits the ship. They're dressed in a skintight blue and grey suit, with a visor over the eyes.
He gives a glance to me and Ko-lee, and a quick nod to the Loki, before quickly making his way off somewhere. "See ya Joker," I think in reference to the Mass Effect pilot, as I watch him disappear between two parked ships. Without a word, the Loki starts walking off, and Ko-lee and I quickly fall in line behind them. We make our way past various parked ships, until we reach a door on the wall of the huge hangar bay. The Loki passes through, and we find ourselves in a more proportionally sized hallway. "Honestly, even if they threw a bag over my head and didn't tell me where I was, I'd probably still pick up on this being the relay right away. The design is very Tenno," I think, as I scan the somewhat simplistic design of the hall.
"It's weird to think, because like, originally the design was very 2000s, metalheart sci-fi. But now, that's not what this is. The design evolved from something else, something in the real world. It wasn't created by a game designer following trends, and yet it is literally those trends. God, this is so trippy." As my gaze roams around the rounded corners and smooth surfaces, a thought occurs to me. "It's like, an evolution of the Orokin design. Or a devolution, maybe. Same vibe, but less gaudy gold and lights and marble, and more Y2K Futurism." We pass a few more people as we make our way down the hall, all wearing the same suit that the pilot was wearing, and I see the chance to get an answer to a question I had always thought of when playing Warframe.
"What's with the getup?" I say, as I sidle up next to the Loki. "What getup?" I hear the synthesized voice of the Lotus respond. "The skintight suits that everyone we've passed are wearing." "Oh," says the Loki. "They have a bunch of technology in them. I think you're going to get fitted with one." I chuckle. "Oh, am I part of the Tenno now?" I joke, but the Loki stops walking as I do. "Were you considering working against us?" says the Lotus. "Oops, I'm pretty sure that's actual space mom now." I raise my hands placatingly, shaking my head. "No, no, absolutely not. Just... trying to follow along," I say, doing my best to appear at ease. There's only a moment's pause before they continue walking, and a minute later we enter the Concourse.
"So much has happened today, and yet," I think, as I find myself breathless by the space. There's a Rhino statue in the center of the Concourse, and various greenery dotted all around. Holographic signage mark pathways, indicating various things like the docks, food, weaponry, training spaces, offices, and more. Soft blue light fills the air, as people make their way back and forth, intention in every step. As I scan the space, however, I find my gaze getting pulled towards the Rhino statue. I feel a part of my mind raising a flag, and I find my eyebrows scrunching as I look at it. "I swear this is supposed to be an Ember statue. Some changes make sense, like a bigger Cetus, but... why would this statue be different? Am I mixing up my relays?" My memory has never been the best, and so eventually I shelve the thought, and continue to look around as we pass through the Concourse.
As we do, I can't help but compare and contrast the relay to what I can remember of the one from in the game. "I mean, clearly my memory is dogshit anyways, so who knows if what I'm even thinking of is the right thing T B F, but it's kinda sorta like the thing with Cetus. Bigger to fit more people and more stuff, but ultimately still the same. How big is a relay supposed to be, anyways? Was there ever even any lore for that?" I muse, as we pass by various people. A good portion of the people give a wave to the warframe as we do. Some are clearly Tenno, wearing an outfit identical to the one of our pilot, but some are wearing normal clothing; Cetesian and otherwise.
"Where are all the syndicates though," I wonder, looking around the space. "Are they just not here? Or was that a game thing. I mean, it doesn't really make sense for every syndicate, especially ones that pretty much hated each other, to have little rooms right next door." I figure the fastest way to get an answer is to ask, and so I take a step up to close the distance to the Loki. "Question. Do you know who Cephalon Suda, Ergo Glast, and uh..." I trail off, as I realize I don't actually know what the names of the other notable syndicate leaders are. "Actually, scratch that. Do New Loka, Steel Meridian, Arbiters of Hexis, and a few other groups have a presence here on Strata Relay?"
"Yup," responds the Loki. I wait for elaboration, but none comes, and so I continue to press. "Well, I don't see any in the Concourse." The Loki just nods their head, and I bite my tongue before saying something acerbic. I fall back in line with Ko-lee, who gives me a questioning look. I just shrug, unable to give a concise explanation for that particular line of inquiry. "I guess I'll just have to wander the Concourse at some point. Or maybe the whole relay, see if I can't spot them. I think there was a point pre the syndicates existing in the game, but it wouldn't really make sense for them to not be around and then suddenly be around I R L. They have history and stuff, so... yeah. I dunno, maybe there's no point really. The whole reason to be friendly in game was for the mods and stuff, but it's not like I really need those."
I back burner the thought, and return my focus to the Concourse as we continue to pass through. As we walk, I hear various conversation between people, but I'm unable to parse any one particular dialog over another. I hear snippets about Earth, about the Tenno, a number about us and the warframe, about money, lunch, training, and a million other things. "So weirdly... human," I think, before we finally reach a door and exit the space. The chatter of the Concourse is muted as we find ourselves in a stairwell. The Loki continues leading us, and we go down three floors before entering a new hallway, even smaller than before.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Tight quarters. I guess this one isn't a main path or something," I think, as we pass by numerous identical unmarked doors. The hallway is wide enough for only two people to comfortably pass by each other, unlike the one we were in before that could easily fit 4 or 5 people shoulder to shoulder. The hall has a slight left lean to it, and we are walking down it for minutes, seeing nothing but more evenly spaced doors. The space is undecorated, and our footsteps are the only sound available as we wordlessly make our way down the wall. We pass at least one junction before finally, we stop at what feels like a completely arbitrary door. Without any motion from the frame, a light in place of a door handle flashes green, before the door automatically slides open in front of us.
The second I see inside, the entire walk is recontextualized in my mind. "It's basically a single room studio apartment," I think, as I step inside. On the left hand side of the room is a small desk, bolted to the ground. A chair is slid underneath it, and a single lamp rests on top of it. On the right side of the room is a countertop, with a few pieces of tech that I can only assume are food devices I don't recognize, as well as a single cupboard. At the far back of the room, opposite of the door and inset into the wall, is a bed; only a smidge bigger than the one in the Unum. Underneath the bed, and part of the wall itself, are the handles for a number of drawers, and finally, the back right hand corner of the room contains a door, which is currently closed. "You're staying here for now," says the Lotus, or possibly the Loki with the Lotus' voice. "I wish there was an easier way to tell who's speaking," I think, looking at the weapon.
"I had planned to speak with you about various information you seem to possess, but I am currently occupied with other matters. You will be summoned when you are needed," says who I am now confident is the Lotus. "Cool, the waiting game again. And it ended so well last time." "Can I ask how long that might take?" I question, doing my best to keep the acid out of my voice. "I will likely request your presence sometime tomorrow," says the Lotus. "Oh." "Well..." I say, feeling somewhat off kilter. "Until then? Are we supposed to stay in the room or something?" There's a momentary pause before the Lotus speaks, and her words contain the barest hint of what can be almost described as mirth. "You may go anywhere you like within Strata Relay. If there is somewhere you are not allowed access to, a guard or a locked door will let you know."
My mouth moves before I have a moment to think about it. "Aren't you afraid of us running off or something?" The Loki shifts, ever so slightly, and I begin to feel a growing pressure pass over me. A shiver runs down my spine, as I stare at the expressionless face of the Loki, the pressure weighing down on my shoulders. "No," they say, before vanishing in front of my eyes, the pressure disappearing along with them. "Alright Batman, no need to stunt on me," I mutter in English, before taking a deep breath. I turn to look at Ko-lee, who is only just now stepping into the room, and as she does so, the door automatically clicks shut behind us. I stare at the closed door for a second, before stepping over to verify that we are indeed, not locked in. The second I'm within arms reach, the light shines green, and the door slides open. I take a step back, and it shuts, silently sliding along in a fraction of a second.
"What are you doing?" asks Ko-lee. "Just... just checking," I say, looking at the door, before sitting down in the chair at the desk. Ko-lee walks over to sit on the bed, resting her back against the inset wall, facing me. "Why do you need to check? The Tenno are the good guys?" she says, her expression one of confusion. "I know, but I also thought the Unum was one of the good guys, and, well..." my voice trails off, and her expression softens. We both just sit in the silence of the room for a moment, doing our best to relax. As I sit there, moments flash into my mind; the near escape from the tower, the gunfire from the Quills, the absolute certainty in the Unum's voice, the fall after being switch teleported out the window, the panic in my veins as I effectively threatened the Lotus with my knowledge. I can feel my mind running over the memories, trying to find a solution, something to learn from, improve from, and finding nothing.
"Honestly," I say, my mouth dry, "I think the only reason she didn't kill me on the spot is because I'm not particularly threatening. If she had known about Loki, about the Lotus keeping an eye on me, I think she would've had a Quill put a bullet between my eyes the moment I entered the chambers." I give a quick mental once over; all I have on me is a handful of credits shoved in my pocket from this morning, and the clothes on my back. My gun, and every other thing I own is still at Goldstone sitting in a drawer. I have no outward injuries, and besides the exhaustion from the adrenaline running out, I'm perfectly hale and whole. "And the trauma of near death doesn't seem to be hitting nearly as hard this time. Woo, call that character growth I guess," I think sardonically.
I pull out of my mind to look over at Ko-lee, and from a quick visual, she seems to be fine as well. Still, I decide to check in anyways, especially since I'm unable to read her mind. "What about you love, are you doing okay?" She takes in a deep breath, and lets out a small chuckle. "I... don't know, Antimony," she says, a small frown on her face. "Like I said earlier, I was still in the middle of processing what we talked about yesterday. And I definitely wasn't prepared to be drafted by the Tenno. Some... childish part of me is maybe okay with that, but... and then the Unum? I mean, you told me how she tried to kill you, and the Tenno agree, but... how could that happen? How could the Protector of Cetus try to... kill you? It just... I don't really know how I'm supposed to feel about all of this, you know?" She sighs once more, but her frown turns up, slightly.
"Still, I think I'll be okay," she says, as she looks at me. I can see the unasked question in her eyes. "Am I doing okay?" I'm unsure of how to formulate an answer. My knee jerk reaction is to blow it off, to claim that I'm entirely fine, that I've no injuries and that we are both technically a step closer to our goals. But there's another part of me that is saying how fucked up this all is, and how not fine I am, or should be, and I can't tell which part is true. So instead, I say nothing, focusing the attention back on Ko-lee. "Did you want to talk about it?" I ask. She shakes her head, her hair scrunching up against the wall as she does so. "I don't think I can do another talk right now. I just need some more time," she says with an apologetic look. I nod my head, before murmuring, "Yea, makes sense."
I stand up from the chair, looking around the room briefly, before realizing there's very little privacy. I make my way over to the door on the right hand corner of the room and it slides open as I approach to reveal a small bathroom. "Yup, things are definitely looking up," I say as I pop my head out of the bathroom. "No more needing to share a bathroom with everyone else." Ko-lee's head is resting against the wall, her eyes closed, but I see a smile cross her face at my words. I leave the bathroom, and check all the drawers and cupboards in the other corner of the room, but find every one empty.
Eventually, I turn my attention to the few items sat on the counter itself, but I'm unable to discern their purpose from a glance. I reach out to touch them, trying to activate, or in some way interact with the devices, but nothing I do seems to have an effect. "I feel like an old person trying to operate a Keurig," I think, a grin stretching across my face. I open my mouth and turn to ask Ko-lee if she knows their purpose, but after a glance at her resting form, I decide against it. "I gotta get out of here. She needs privacy, and I'm gonna go stir crazy trying to keep my mouth shut," I think, looking at my girlfriend. "I think I'm going to go for a walk," I tell her. She gives a small nod in response. I walk through the door, and it flashes green, before sliding shut behind me.